Mike Sorensen: Time to talk about the world of golf

SALT LAKE CITY — While everyone else is thinking football, today we're talking golf, everything from the PGA to Phil to Tiger to aces and albatrosses . . .

Just who were those guys at the top of the leaderboard of golf's fourth major over the weekend?

It looked more like the field at the Nationwide Tour's Utah Championship at Willow Creek Country.

Keegan Bradley? Jason Dufner? Brendan Steele?

In fact winner Bradley was in Utah last September, finishing in a tie for 41st place while Steele missed the cut. Dufner has played in Utah over the years, most recently in 2005 when he tied for 14th.

Even though it was no-names atop the PGA Championship leaderboard, Sunday's final round had as much drama as any other major with eagles, triple bogeys, holed bunker shots, long birdie putts and a riveting three-hole playoff.

Despite boasting the best overall field in golf every year, the PGA has produced several no-names as champion, including the likes of Shaun Micheel, Rich Beem and Y.E. Yang. Bradley fits right in, but since he's just a rookie on the PGA Tour, he may not be a no-name for long.

If Phil Mickelson could make three-foot putts, he just might be the greatest golfer of all time. I swear he misses more short ones than anyone in golf. He missed one on his final hole Saturday and his first hole Sunday, which ended the slim hopes he might have had of making a run at the PGA, one of the majors he's still looking to win.

My theory for his abundance of short misses? He practices them too much.. I've heard the stories of how he surrounds the hole and hits 100 three-footers from every angle.

I think he should take the advice I heard from Bruce Summerhays many years ago. Don't ever practice three-footers. The theory is, every time you miss a three-footer in practice, it sticks in your mind you lose confidence.

Of course that theory doesn't work with every shot, but three-footers are easy enough that if you have the proper technique, you shouldn't have to practice them too much.

I didn't think I'd ever say it, but I actually felt sorry for Tiger Woods last week as he flailed around the Atlanta Athletic Club Golf Course at the PGA.

Woods piled up five double bogeys and seven bogeys in two rounds and didn't come close to making the cut, finishing six strokes off the cut line with his worst major performance ever.

Woods seems to have lost his game as well as his confidence and you wonder if he'll ever get either back.

While I still won't root for Tiger to win tournaments, I hope he gets his old game back and starts contending for titles. Golf is a lot more exciting when Tiger Woods is in the mix.

Every golfer would like to get at least one hole-in-one in their lifetime.

For a regular foursome at Soldier Hollow, hole-in-ones have become quite common this summer.

Soldier Hollow head pro Chris Newson reports that a foursome of volunteer State Parks workers have already made three aces during their every-other-Wednesday foursome at Solider Hollow.

First Paul Baron aced No. 3 on the Gold Course, followed by an ace by Tom LeDuc on No. 15 on the Silver Course. Then Bob Baker got his own ace on the Gold No. 3 Course recently.

As for the fourth member of the group, Carlos Monssen, "they're all staring at him now," says Newson.

As rare and difficult as a hole-in-one is, the hardest thing in golf is not an ace, but an albatross. That's a double-eagle, a 2 on a par-5 or a hole-in-one on a par-4. In fact an albatross is about 80 times more rare than a hole in one.

According to statistics, the chances of getting a hole-in-one are about 1 in 12,000.

The odds of getting a double-eagle?

One in a million.

Every year, Mountain Dell records about five or six double-eagles, according to head pro Mike Brimley, which might be more than your average course since there are two 18-hole courses at Mountain Dell.

So it was something special last Monday when there were two double eagles at Mountain Dell on the same day. Mike Rose got the first one at the Canyon No. 4 hole on the Canyon Course. The second one, a few hours later, was extra special because it was made Andrew Sorensen, who happens to be my 17-year-old son.

After a 250-yard drive, Andrew knocked his 4-hybrid 230 yards, up the hill and right into the hole.

Andrew, who plays for the Highland High golf team, may just be the first person in history to ever get a double-eagle before even getting an eagle.